Container



May 24, 1960 F. F. OLSON CONTAINER Filed Oct. 5, 1959 INVENTOR. FREDERIL'K F. 01 505! Aawr United States Patent Patented May 24, 1950 CONTAINER Frederick F. Olson, Sudbury, Mass, assignor to The B. F.

Goodrich Company, New York, N.Y., a corporation of New York This invention relates to a container and pertains more particularly to a container in which the contents of the container can be viewed without opening the container.

In many instances it is convenient that products be packaged in containers in which the product can be viewed by the prospective purchaser without opening the container and removing the product. For example, tomatoes frequently are packaged in an open-top box encased in a sealed transparent cellophane envelope. The prospective buyer can view the tomatoes through the cellophane envelope and ascertain the quality of the tomatoes before deciding whether to purchase them. The advantages of this type of packaging are quite apparent. However, although the type of container used for tomatoes is quite suitable for packaging products purchased upon visual inspection alone, they are not suitable for packaging products such as articles of clothing which frequently the customer wishes to inspect by feel and for size before making the purchase, since once the sealed cellophane envelope is broken the container has lost its intended utility. Articles of (footwear are an example of a product which desirably are packaged in a container in which the footwear are visible without their removal from the package so that a prospective customer can observe the styling of the footwear, but yet must be removed from the package to ascertain whether the particular footwear fits the interested purchaser. When dealing with these requirements, it is necessary that the utility of the container not be destroyed when the product is removed from the container, so that if the product is not purchased it can be returned to the container and again displayed for sale.

The present invention provides a container in which the contents of the package are visible without removing the contents from the container but yet which may be opened and the contents removed therefrom Without destroying the intended utility of the container. The container which is the subject of this invention comprises a rectangular-shaped former provided with a viewing opening, and a transparent envelope closed at one end and opened at the other end into which the former containing the product to be sold is placed. The transparent envelope, being open at one end, allows the former and merchandise placed therein to be removed from the envelope through the open end without damaging the envelope so that the merchandise can be fully inspected and tried on for size. After inspection the merchandise can be replaced in the former and the former reinserted into the envelope. The invention will be more fully understood by referring to the following detailed description of an embodiment of this invention and to the drawings in which:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a container within the scope of this invention;

Fig. 2 is a perspective view of the former shown in Fig. 1 except that in this view the former is lying flat instead of being folded into the rectangular shape in which it is used in association with the transparent envelope shown in Fig. 1; and

Fig. 3 is a perspective view of one end of the former folded into the rectangular shape in which it is used in association with the transparent envelope shown in Fig. 1 and showing an opening in the end of the former into which the open end of the transparent envelope may be inserted to close the open end of the transparent envelope.

Referring to the drawings, the container 10 comprises a transparent envelope 11 sealed closed at one end 12 and open at the other end @13 into which a former 14 is inserted. The envelope 11 is'constructed in any convenient manner such as by sealing one end of a tube of transparent material folded along opposite sides in reentrant folds to form a bellows-type bag. Although envelope 11 may be made of a less durable material such as cellophane, it is preferable that envelope 11 be made from a material having greater elasticity than cellophane such as polyethylene, polypropylene, polyvinyl chloride, polyvinylidene chloride, vinyl chloride-vinylidene chloride copolymers, and the like, so that the envelope 11 is not easily torn as the former 14 and merchandise are inserted into the envelope 11 or are removed from the envelope 11. A bellows-type bag made from transparent polyethylene film about 2 mils thick has been used with excellent results as the envelope component of the container 10.

The former 14 is constructed of any material having sufiicient structural strength to maintain container 10 in the desired rectangular shape during normal usage of the container. For example, the former may be made of cardboard or wood or plastic materials. In the embodiment of this invention shown in the drawings, the former 14 is formed from a flat piece of material such as cardboard which is cut and folded to provide sides 15, 15, a bottom section 16, end flaps 17, 17, end flaps 18a, 18b and end flap 19. When the former 14 is folded, sides 15, 15 are positioned vertically with end flaps 17, 17 superimposed over each other and with end flaps 18a, 18b folded toward each other and end flap 19. folded up whereby an open-top rectangular-shaped receptacle is formed. One of the end flaps 18b is provided with a slit 20 whereby a tab 21 is formed which engages end flap 19 to lock end flap 18b and end flap 19 together. End flap 19 also is provided with a slit 22 whereby a tab 23 is formed which engages end flap 18a to lock end flap 18a and end flap 19 together. Each end flap 17, 17 is provided with an opening 24, 24 which openings when the former 14 is folded are aligned so that an opening in the end of the folded former 14 adjacent the open end 13 of envelope 11 is provided into which the open end 13 of the envelope 11 is inserted for closing the container 10, as shown in Fig. 1, so that dirt is prevented from entering the interior of the container 10 through the open end of the envelope 11 during storage of the packaged merchandise. If desired, an opening 25 can be provided in one of the sides 15 of the former 14 so that the merchandise packaged in the container 10 can be viewed through this opening. It will be apparent that the former 14 need not be completely void of a top section but, rather, may have a top section with an opening therein of suflicient size that the merchandise packaged in the container 10 can be readily viewed. Also, it will be apparent that the end sections of the former 14 may be adhered with a suitable adhesive to the side sections of the former 14.

The ultimate purchaser of merchandise packaged in accordance with this invention may desire after purchasing the merchandise to discard the former 14 and utilize the transparent envelope 11 for storage of the merchandise when the merchandise is not being used. The envelope 11 also provides a useful means in which the merchandise may be carried. Therefore, it is seen that the container 10 not only serves the needs of the retailer in displaying and storing .the merchandise but also may be utilized by the ultimate purchaser of the merchandise.

It will be understood that apparent modifications and variations of this invention may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A container for packaging merchandise which comprises a transparent envelope open at one end and sealed closed at the other end and a rectangular-shaped former inserted into said envelope and imparting a generally rectangular shape to said envelope, said former having an opening in the end thereof adjacent the said open end of said envelope into which the said open end of said envelope is inserted to close the said container and prevent dirt from entering the interior of the container and soiling the merchandise packaged in the said container, said former having an opening in the top thereof sufficient in size to permit merchandise packaged in the said container to be viewed without removing the merchandise from the container.

2. A container for packaging merchandise which comprises a transparent envelope open at one end and sealed closed at the other end and a rectangular-shaped opentop former inserted into said envelope and imparting a generally rectangular shape to said envelope, said former having an opening in the end thereof adjacent the said open end of said envelope into which the said open end of said envelope is inserted to close the said eontainer and prevent dirt from entering the interior of the container and soiling the merchandise packaged in the said container.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,722,361 Kindseth Nov. 1, 1955 

